LaRue County Chamber of Commerce members expressed mixed emotions last Wednesday as they bid farewell to Executive Director Rita Williams.

Williams is stepping down from the executive director position after about five years of service. In October, Williams took a leave of absence as she campaigned for the seat of Mayor of Hodgenville. When she lost the race, she decided to step away from chamber of commerce duties.

Friends, past presidents and other chamber leadership filled the Lincoln Museum Community Room to show appreciation for Williams.

Valerie Viers returned to her hometown of Hodgenville from a two-year Peace Corps stint in Jordan with the realization that though Arab culture and customs are quite different from those of Americans, people are basically the same everywhere.

“The kids love to play the same games as our children, for example tag, and their version of duck-duck-goose,” said Viers, who served as an English teacher at a girls’ school there. “They watch American shows like Hannah Montana, Tom and Jerry and Sponge Bob Square Pants.

Bobby Morrison and Santa’s Helpers are in need of new and used toys and batteries to be given away at Christmas. For pickup, call Snookie Morrison at 270-234-3313 or drop off at 760 Salem Lake Road, Hodgenville. Donation boxes are available at LaRue County Chamber of Commerce, Abe’s Country Cookin’ and Dollar General Store.

A local man found a way to symbolize his respect for the U.S. Army by creating the symbol himself.

A logo created by Terry Wise, a cartoonist and contractor for Hewlett Packard Enterprise Systems assigned to the 3rd Medical Recruiting Battalion, was selected as the theme logo for the Year of the Station Commander program, which recognizes work that station commanders, who are in charge of recruiters, do.

Grammy Award winning country music artist Bryan White will perform at a benefit concert for diabetes research and awareness in Elizabethtown. The event, “Concert for a Cure,” will take place Nov. 13 at the Hardin County Schools Performing Arts Center, 384 W.A. Jenkins Rd., Elizabethtown. A health fair and auction will also be held before the concert.

The LaRue County Environmental Education and Research Center will be featured in an upcoming segment of KET’s Kentucky Life.

Show host Dave Shuffett visited the Leafdale Road site Friday, conducting interviews for the show. Guests included LaRue County Judge/Executive Tommy Turner and Dr. William H. Martin, chairman for the Kentucky Heritage Land Conservation Fund Board.

Shuffett’s focus is on properties purchased through the efforts of KHLCFB. He visited Tebbs’ Bend in Taylor County – another project of the KHLCFB Friday morning.

Arlene Quinones is off to the races – again – as she embarks on yet another challenge. A student at Elizabethtown Community and Technical College, Quinones is working on her associate degree in business administration and human resources. And while the prospect of an office job is appealing to her, it will definitely be a change in lifestyle.

Set-up for the fifth annual Festival of Trees is 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Nov. 11 in the Lincoln Museum Community Room.

Participating organizations may decorate a holiday tree, wreath, garland or banner or similar item and enter it on display for silent auction. The silent auction ends 7:30 p.m. Nov. 20. Proceeds from the sale go to the sponsoring not-for-profit group. Individuals and businesses may also participate if proceeds from the sale are given directly to a specified charity.

Samuel Slayton of St. Vivian Church, Boy Scout Troop 682, in Cincinnati has attained the rank of Eagle Scout. He joins the ranks of 35 other Eagle Scouts from Troop 682 in its 53-year history at St. Vivian. Fewer than three percent of all boys who enter Scouting achieve the rank of Eagle Scout.

To become an Eagle, a candidate must demonstrate leadership skills in his Troop and in a community service project. For his project, Slayton chose to build an 130 foot fence addition to Farbach-Warner Nature Reserve in Colerain Township, Ohio.